After previously revealing that it would look to outsource device manufacturing to third-parties, Barnes & Noble has announced its first hardware partnership for Nook. It is working with Samsung to develop co-branded tablets.

A 7-inch version will be first to launch, in the US in early August. Reading between the lines of the official announcement, however, suggests other screen sizes will follow.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook tablets will be sold at Barnes & Noble stores across the States and online at bn.com. The eBook reading store on the devices will give access to more than three million books.

The Nook GlowLight eBook reader is only one of a few devices (which includes the NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ tablets) the company still sells from a once strong line-up. However, it always said that it would look to partner with third-party manufacturers for future products going forward. It also provides an application for iOS and Android that gives access to the books sold on its digital stores.